Pink Floyd’s album sleeves explained

‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ (1973). The concept of this cover, according the artist Storm Thorgerson, was to try and connect with Pink Floyd’s live shows; "famous for their lighting, ambition and madness… hence the prism, the triangle and the pyramids. It all connects, somehow, somewhere." Thorgerson’s designs can be seen in his new book, ‘Mind Over Matter 4 – The Images Of Pink Floyd’ and at London’s OXO Gallery from July 24 – August 10.

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‘Wish You Were Here’ (1975). Designer Storm Thorgerson says: "The theme for this album was absence. We couldn’t do a blank cover as The Beatles had already done it with ‘The White Album’ so we shrink-wrapped the LPs in black and opaque cellophane. Some fans cut the sleeve with a blade and slid the record out so have never seen the burning man cover." Thorgerson’s designs can be seen in his new book, ‘Mind Over Matter 4 – The Images Of Pink Floyd’ and at London’s OXO Gallery from July 24 – August 10.

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‘Wish You Were Here’ (1975) album liner bag, designed by Storm Thorgerson. During the making of the album, Thorgerson claims that Pink Floyd were "not entirely together as a band", which is where the concept of absence for the album came from. Thorgerson’s designs can be seen in his new book, ‘Mind Over Matter 4 – The Images Of Pink Floyd’ and at London’s OXO Gallery from July 24 – August 10.

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‘Ummagumma’ (1969). Designer Storm Thorgerson recalls:. "The 3D illusion," created by the sleeve having two rooms on each half of the sleeve, "served to illustrate the simple idea that Floyd music was multilayered, more intricate than most. I didn’t like this record much". Storm Thorgerson’s designs can be seen in his new book, ‘Mind Over Matter 4 – The Images Of Pink Floyd’ and at London’s OXO Gallery from July 24 – August 10.

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‘Atom Heart Mother’ (1970). The title was taken from a newspaper headline and had no ostensible links with the album. "The Floyd were deep in experimental mode," recalls sleeve designer Storm Thorgerson. "The band had no title, no definite theme, no great concept so I wanted to design a non-cover – not shocking, just unexpected." You can read more about Pink Floyd’s iconic album artwork in Thorgerson’s book ‘Mind Over Matter 4 – The Images Of Pink Floyd’.

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‘Echoes – The Best of Pink Floyd’ (2001). This cover features images and concepts from previous albums: the pig from the ‘Animals’ album, the cow from ‘Atom Heart Mother’, the swimmer and liner bag from ‘Wish You Were Here’, the maid from ‘A Momentary Lapse Of Reason’ and the masks from ‘Is There Anybody Out There?’.

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‘A Momentary Lapse Of Reason’ (1987). This was the first album after Roger Waters left and Pink Floyd continued as Nick Mason and David Gilmour. Thorgerson was brought in to give it a ‘Floyd look’. "This ‘divorce’ was marred by such bitterness and acrimony , and the aftertaste lingered for some years. It still does, in my opinion." Storm Thorgerson’s designs can be seen up close at London’s OXO Gallery from July 24 – August 10.

This image of a swimmer in the Yuma Desert, titled ‘The Meaning of Life’, was first seen in Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here’ songbook designed by Storm Thorgerson. "It shows an absence of purpose – he just swims on going nowhere." Storm Thorgerson’s distinctive designs can be seen in his new book, ‘Mind Over Matter 4 – The Images Of Pink Floyd’ and at London’s OXO Gallery from July 24 – August 10.

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This image, ‘Interstellar Poster’, featured in Pink Floyd’s ‘Interstellar’ exhibition (taken from the album ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ (1967)) at Le Cite De La Musique in Paris in 2003. The balls represent infinity and multiple layers. "I fancifully imagined that the secret of the Floyd was contained therein," explains artist Storm Thorgerson, who has also designed album sleeves for Led Zeppelin, Audioslave and Biffy Clyro.

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A poster for Pink Floyd’s ‘Back Catalogue’ advertising campaign in 1996 to launch a series of CD reissues. The covers were hand painted onto the bodies to reflect the curves and light, no computers were used. It was released along with a TV commercial called ‘Art Gallery’. Examine more of Storm Thorgerson’s art at London’s OXO Gallery, on the South Bank, from July 24 – August 10.

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Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here (Live)’ (1995) single cover showing "two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl", designed by Storm Thorgerson. The artist wanted the image to show "no retouching, no clever tricks, no pretence. Like the words of the song".

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‘Animals’ (1977). The image shows the now infamous pig, which is synonymous with Pink Floyd’s live shows, floating over Battersea Power Station in south west London. It took three days to get the shot which was used, and on the second day the pig escaped and floated into the path of planes bound for Heathrow Airport. Thirty years later the porcine gadabout escaped again, this time at Roger Waters’ performance at Coachella Festival.

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‘The Division Bell'(1994). The album sleeve shows two faces talking to each other, thus creating a third face. A major theme on the album is communication, which gave artist Storm Thorgerson his inspiration. "It was intended that the viewer should not see both at the same time. One saw the single face, or the two profiles which meant that they were then communicating with the image."

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This image is taken from Pink Floyd’s thirtieth anniversary super audio CD release (SACD) in 2003. In the CD booklet there are a total of 30 images each connected to the prism design including a traffic lights sign, a samosa and a snooker triangle. Storm Thorgerson’s designs can be seen in his new book, ‘Mind Over Matter 4 – The Images Of Pink Floyd’ and at London’s OXO Gallery from July 24 – August 10.